Updated on May 28th 2008

Young Members

Welcome to the Otago Branch of the NZFGW. The Otago Branch has a strong Young Members group with five current young member representatives on the local committee, working to ensure the organisation is relevant for young women today.

We have an enthusiastic group of postgraduate students and professional women that meet for dinners out and other social functions throughout the year. Last year this included functions such as a “Curry Club” night where we learnt to make samosas and lamb korma (and then ate it!) and a Christmas card making session at Spotlight.

We run workshops of significance to our membership, including one on work-life balance. Later this year we are planning to offer a workshop on “Preparing to Present: A Guide to Great Conference Presentations”. Keep checking this page and the upcoming events for further information.

The Otago branch is extremely supportive of young member initiatives and individual young members. Branch meetings provide an excellent base for developing networks and contacts with women across a range of disciplines.

You may be aware that the Otago Branch of the NZFGW provides the regalia for the graduation ceremonies of the University of Otago, the Dunedin College of Education and the Otago Polytechnic. Funds raised from the hire of regalia are used to help promote education for women. We achieve this by providing Post-Graduate Travel Awards to attend conferences and workshops and Helen Benson Awards for non-graduate women access ‘second-chance’ education or to retrain. By helping hand out regalia throughout the year you are helping other women further their education.

Organising a winter lecture is also a role of the Young Members. In 2007 Dr Helena Catt, the first female CEO and Commissioner for the Electoral Commission, presented “Purple Politics” which was a talk about her work, career and life. Dr Helena Catt talked about her upbringing and early years in Scotland, her university work in England. She emigrated to NZ in 1990 to take up the position of Associate Professor in Political Studies at the University of Auckland, teaching and researching aspects of democratic practice. Helena then became the first female CEO and Commissioner for the Electoral Commission in 2004. Within the commission she is involved in the research and education work as well as broader corporate roles.

Our branch also encourages young members to participate at Federation of Graduate Women conferences. In 2003, Paula and Martine represented our branch at National conference in Christchurch and then, in 2004, they attended the International Federation of University Women Conference – Humanizing Globalization: Empowering Women in Perth. At the International conference we ran a workshop on work-life balance and Martine presented a paper on “Degrees of Intoxication: Young Women and Alcohol in a New Zealand University Community”.

NZFGW members making cards

A mentoring scheme is available for young members, with a broad range of experience and expertise available from within the membership of the local branch. If you are interested in further information about this scheme please email Martine. You can also establish links with overseas mentors. One way of doing this is by joining the International Federation of University Women’s Young Members Network. This network is a great way to chat with women from all over the world and to discover common interests.

We encourage you to participate actively within the Branch and to stand for positions on the committee. Please contact us if you would like more information about the young members group. We look forward to meeting you.

Martine Cashell-Smith (Young Member’s Representative)

We currently have five young member reps: Martine Cashell-Smith, Julia Albrecht, Karen Hartshorn, Kamali Pugazhenthi and Kalinka Rexer-Huber. Our reps include both post graduate students and research fellows.

Martine Cashell-Smith

Martine is an Assistant Research Fellow at the University of Otago. She has a ten year old daughter and a two year who keep her very busy. She is enjoying her role as a Young Members’ Rep and is hoping to encourage other graduate and undergraduate women with children to join as she sees FGW as a great organization to represent and support such women.